Wallachia

The Kingdom of Romania (Romanian: Regatul României) was a constitutional monarchy that existed in Romania from 13 March (O.S.) / 25 March 1881 with the crowning of prince Karl of Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen as King Carol I (thus beginning the Romanian royal family), until 1947 with the abdication of King Michael I of Romania and the Romanian parliament's proclamation of Romania as a socialist People's republic. From 1859 to 1877, Romania evolved from a personal union of two vassal principalities (Moldavia and Wallachia) under a single prince to an autonomous principality with a Hohenzollern monarchy. The country gained its independence from the Ottoman Empire during the 1877–1878 Russo-Turkish War (known locally as the Romanian War of Independence), when it also received Northern Dobruja in exchange for the southern part of Bessarabia. The kingdom's territory during the reign of King Carol I, between 13 (O.S.) / 25 March 1881 and 27 September (O.S.) / 10 October 1914 is sometimes referred as the Romanian Old Kingdom, to distinguish it from "Greater Romania", which included the provinces that became part of the state after World War I (Bessarabia, Banat, Bukovina, and Transylvania). With the exception of the southern halves of Bukovina and Transylvania, these territories were ceded to neighboring countries in 1940, under the pressure of Nazi Germany or the Soviet Union. Following the abolishment of the 1923 constitution by King Carol II in 1938, the Kingdom of Romania became a de facto absolute monarchy, only to become a military dictatorship under Ion Antonescu in 1940 after the forced abdication of King Carol II, with his successor, King Michael I being a figurehead with no effective political power. The country's name was changed to Legionary Romania. The disastrous World War II campaign on the side of the Axis powers led to King Michael's Coup against Ion Antonescu in 1944, as a result of which the Kingdom of Romania became a constitutional monarchy again and switched sides to the Allies, recovering Northern Transylvania. The influence of the neighbouring Soviet Union and the policies followed by Communist-dominated coalition governments ultimately led to the abolition of the monarchy, with Romania becoming a Soviet satellite state as the People's Republic of Romania on the last day of 1947.

The Municipality of Bucharest (the capital of Romania) is divided into 6 administrative units, named sectors (sectoare in Romanian), each of which has their own mayor and council, and has responsibility over local affairs, such as secondary streets, parks, schools and the cleaning services. Each of the 6 sectors contains a number of informal districts (cartiere) which have no administrative function: Sector 1: Dorobanți, Băneasa, Aviației, Pipera, Aviatorilor, Primăverii, Romană, Victoriei, Herăstrău, Bucureștii Noi, Dămăroaia, Străulești, Chitila, Grivița, 1 Mai, Pajura, Domenii and a small part of Giulești - the part with Giulești Stadium Sector 2: Pantelimon, Colentina, Iancului, Tei, Floreasca, Moșilor, Obor, Vatra Luminoasă, Fundeni, Ștefan cel Mare Sector 3: Vitan, Dudești, Titan, Centrul Civic, Balta Albă, Dristor, Lipscani, Muncii, Unirii Sector 4: Berceni, Olteniței, Văcărești, Timpuri Noi, Tineretului Sector 5: Rahova, Ferentari, Giurgiului, Cotroceni, 13 Septembrie, Dealul Spirii Sector 6: Giulești, Crângași, Drumul Taberei, Militari, Grozăvești (also known as Regie), Ghencea

The Alexe Church (Romanian: Biserica Alexe) is a Romanian Orthodox church located at 123 Calea Șerban Vodă in Bucharest, Romania. It is dedicated to the Dormition of the Mother of God. Reportedly, the church was built of brick around 1799, on the site of an earlier wooden church. A list of names to be prayed for, since lost, was carved in stone in the altar and mentioned the year 1809; another such list was from 1812. At any event, the church was re-founded in 1812 by a certain Alexe Arnăutu and his wife Maria. Upon his death the following year, he dedicated the church to the Hilandar Monastery on Mount Athos. The interior painting, in Renaissance style, is by Gheorghe Ioanid. Renovations took place after the 1838 earthquake, again in 1845 and, as recorded in the pisanie, in 1897. Major repairs were undertaken in 1926, with more minor interventions in 1948, 1953 and 1979. It was mostly closed from 1988 to 1998, with demolition proposed. More repairs started in 2004.The cross-shaped church measures 28 meters long by 6-12 meters wide. The altar apse is polygonal, the wide side apses round on the exterior. The nave and narthex are beneath the same tin roof; the entrance facade features a simple pediment. The larger dome, above the nave, has windows on all eight sides; the octagonal bell tower is above the narthex. Both are coated in tin and neither has a base. The narthex ceiling is flat, with the choir area above. The added portico is narrower than the narthex and just one story high. It is entered through a large central arch that has a metal door. To the right and left there are two narrow windows rounded above, similar to the side windows. There is a string course on the portico; otherwise, the whitewashed facades are plain. The painting depicting the patron feast sits in a small rectangular frame on the pediment. The large lower windows have stained glass with saints and Biblical scenes. The smaller upper windows light the choir. The surrounding yard is large, with old poplars near the street.The church is listed as a historic monument by Romania's Ministry of Culture and Religious Affairs.

The Curtea Veche Church (Romanian: Biserica Curtea Veche) is a Romanian Orthodox church located at 33 Franceză Street in the Lipscani quarter of Bucharest, Romania. It is dedicated to the Feast of the Annunciation and to Saint Anthony the Great.

The Dimitrie Leonida Technical Museum was founded in 1909 by Dimitrie Leonida, inspired by the München Technical Museum, he had visited during his studies in Charlottenburg Polytechnic Institute. In 1908, with the help of the first promotions of mechanics and electricians from his school, the first in Romania, Leonida collected the first objects for the museum. What is different in the Leonida museum was the educational orientation of the museum and also the interactivity.

Gheorghe Șincai National College (Romanian: Colegiul Național Gheorghe Șincai) is a high school located at 167 Calea Șerban Vodă, Bucharest, Romania.

The Flămânda Church (Romanian: Biserica Flămânda) is a Romanian Orthodox church located at 17 Olimpului Street in Bucharest, Romania. It is dedicated to the Transfiguration of Jesus. Tradition holds that the church was built near the Metropolitan Cathedral in order to accommodate the masses of hungry people (flămânzi) who would come for alms on high holidays. Initially, the site hosted a small wooden skete built in 1766, according to the old pisanie. The current masonry church dates to 1782. In 1794, the poor parishioners wrote to Prince Alexander Mourouzis requesting funds for a new roof after the original was destroyed by a storm. The 1800 pisanie states that the church was completed by the tailors’ guild in 1800. The same group carried out repairs and additions during the early 19th century, which saw the addition of an upper room for women. The bell tower was rebuilt after the 1838 earthquake.Restorations were carried out in 1869–1871, as noted in the new pisanie of 1871. Renovations took place in 1928, 1972-1974 and 1983–1987. Archaeological excavations of the early 1970s uncovered 21 graves around the church, dating to 1766–1782. The interior painting was initially in fresco, realist oil paintings in 1871. Frescoes were painted over the interior in the 1980s, with fragments of the old artwork preserved. The church owns old books, an 1849 reliquary and an inscribed icon from 1825.The cross-shaped church measures 24 meters long by 8.8 meters wide, with an enlarged narthex. It has two octagonal domes on square bases above the nave and narthex. The old portico is walled in on the sides. A newer, smaller one is closed, with windows, ornamented on the exterior with pilasters and a frieze. A small semicircular arch emphasizes the painted icon of the Transfiguration. The facades are divided into upper and lower halves; the frameless windows are large and rectangular. The spacious churchyard features a parish house from the 1930s and an old stone cross.The church is listed as a historic monument by Romania's Ministry of Culture and Religious Affairs.

Tineretului (Youth's station in English) is a metro station in Bucharest, Romania, on the Bucharest Metro Line M2. The station was inaugurated on 6 April 1986 as part of the previously built section of the line, from Piața Unirii to Depoul IMGB. The station is named for the Tineretului Park (Youth's Park) nearby.

Slobozia Church (Romanian: Biserica Slobozia), dedicated to the Great Martyr St. Demetrius (Sf. Mare Mucenic Dumitru), is a Romanian Orthodox church in Bucharest's Sector 4, located at the intersection of Dimitrie Cantemir and Marășești Boulevards. Built by Radu Leon, its ctitor, between 1664 and 1667, the church was erected near a stone cross placed by Radu's father, Leon Tomșa. The cross was built between 1629 and 1632 in order to commemorate the victory Leon Tomșa's army had won on August 23, 1631 against the boyars of Aga Matei (the future Matei Basarab). The cross stands on a small circular mound, where the bones of Leon Tomșa's troops are buried, as well as those of his enemy. Between 1664 and 1665 Radu Leon restored the cross, providing it with a brick shelter, now lost. After renovating the cross, Radu Leon built Slobozia Church. Initially constructed on a rectangular plan, the church was rebuilt, enlarged and rounded in 1743 by vistier (treasurer) Constantin Năsturel Herescu. During the 19th and 20th centuries, the church underwent a series of important modifications, so that its original style acquired a classical look. Among these changes was the replacement of the interior walls with large arches; the façades also acquired classical elements. The interior murals have also changed through time, the most important new features being introduced around the time of the Wallachian Revolution of 1848, a period when Western trends were combined with native elements. During construction work of the Bucharest Metro, the altar was cracked in April or May 1986, leading to the filling of the said tunnel with sand, and subsequent repairs to the altar.

The 20th century history of cremation in Romania began in 1923, when the Romanian Cremation Society, called Cenușa ("Ashes"), was formed. In February 1928, the Bucharest Crematorium, also called Cenușa, began operations. It cremated 262 corpses that year, the figure rising to 602 in 1934. In 1935, 0.19% of Romania's dead were cremated there.

The Tomb of the Unknown Soldier (Romanian: Mormântul Soldatului Necunoscut) is a monument located in Bucharest, Romania. Dedicated to the soldiers who died while fighting for Romania. It is one of many such national tombs. It was built in 1923 to commemorate the Romanians who died during World War I.

The Manu Cavafu Church (Romanian: Biserica Manu Cavafu) is a Romanian Orthodox church located at 4 Gheorghe Șincai Boulevard in Bucharest, Romania, near Tineretului metro station. It is dedicated to the Holy Trinity and to the Archangels Michael and Gabriel. The date of the church’s construction was not precisely known until 1969, particularly as the pisanie (inscription) is partly deteriorated. That year, the parish priest discovered a petition from the Christians of the Broșteni district to the Metropolitan of Ungro-Wallachia. Authored by Manul "Cavaful", head of the shoemakers’ (cavafi) guild, the document asks permission for building a church on the land of the late Hagi Dumitrache Papazoglu, in accordance with his will. It is dated July 1815, and construction probably started on August 15, a date mentioned on the inscription. The structure was probably erected by summer 1816, and was completely finished by November 1817, as attested by a document of that date.Repairs were carried out in 1868, 1891 and 1906, while the painting was redone in 1929. Thorough repairs took place in 1949–1950 and 1957. Repainting was done under Patriarch Justinian, whose portrait appears among the ktetors. The 1930 parish house was demolished in 1985 to make way for the surrounding apartment blocks. The church has two spires, one above the nave, the other, the bell tower, above the narthex. The iconostasis is carved in wood and gilt. The facades are simple, with a classical cornice and pediment on the western side, painted with three panels of saints’ icons.The church is listed as a historic monument by Romania's Ministry of Culture and Religious Affairs.